Lewis Hamilton will face a race against time to take part in qualifying for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix after he crashed out of final practice.
In the final seconds on the concluding session at Spa-Francorchamps, Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari on the exit of Fagnes, racing through the gravel with the rear of his car thudding into the barrier.
“I have destroyed the car, mate,” said Hamilton as he came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the track.
Hamilton, unharmed in the accident, got out of his car to inspect the significant damage to the back right of his Ferrari – with his back-right wheel facing the wrong way.
Hamilton’s Ferrari mechanics will now have a little more than two hours to repair the seven-time world champion’s car. Qualifying for tomorrow’s race takes place at 16:00 local time (15:00 UK).
Kimi Antonelli will be the favourite to secure pole position after he finished fastest.
The championship leader led the way yesterday and was quickest again in the final running prior to qualifying.
Antonelli saw off McLaren’s Lando Norris – who will serve a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding engine parts – by 0.139 seconds.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen took third, 0.148 sec slower than Antonelli, with George Russell a place back and almost four tenths off his Mercedes team-mate’s pace.
Russell trails Antonelli by 25 points heading into the 10th round, with Hamilton next up in the championship standings, 32 points back. Hamilton finished 0.392 sec adrift of Antonelli before his late crash.
